Today we went to Waitomo Caves, a largely uncharted network of caves that were created by water running through the soft limestone. We choose the Haggus Honking Hole expedition that had us underground for more than 2 hours! It was a wet expedition so we were fully suited up in wetsuits (for the second day in a row), jackets, helmets and rubber boots and we went clomping down into the cave entrance. The caves were breath-taking and I instantly regretted not bringing my water-proof camera. Isn't that always the way though? No matter how much effort and time you put into packing efficiently, you always end up leaving things you should have brought and taking things you should have left at home. Our guides, Russ and Dean, were so fantastically witty! I'm seriously thinking that every Kiwi is born with an amazing sense of humor, I have yet to find a boring one.
We were thrown head first into cave abseiling when we came to our first cliff to repel down and it was down a 20 m drop. It was a bit unnerving not being able to see the ground below you. Next came abseiling down a waterfall and it's safe to say that there was not a dry bone left in me when I got to the bottom. The shock of the water was nothing to when I looked around and found myself in a bathroom sized cavern room with no apparent way out. All the people who had gone before me were nowhere to be seen so I knew there must be a way out but I had no idea what to do. Lesson #1 when in a cave: Listen to the guides... I did not follow that rule... Completely clueless, I decided to just hang out till Jodie, who was next to come down, repelled down and then follow her out but the guide starting calling out from the top to get moving on and I faintly remembered Russ, our guide, saying something about following the water and going feet first but the water from the falls seemed to be going out a lil crevice barely 1.5 ft high... Taking a leap of faith or stupidity I went feet first with the water and sure enough I found my way to the others. Luckily, I wasn't the only one who didn't listen to the guide, Brittany found herself in the same predicament, which figures... The two of us get lost walking around on top of the ground, it's fitting that we would get lost under ground.
My favorite parts of the caving were those moments when you were all alone, with no-one visible in front or behind me and you get the feeling that you are the first to come down this way and looking at all the cave formations, glow worms and just being lost in the darkness. P.S. glow worms are not the cute little creatures they sound like, their true name is Arachnocampa lunimosa. Basically, they are larva stage of a spider-like insect that emits a light to attract food. Ick. But that's why ignorance is bliss... They look so pretty if you don't look too closely. There were definitely times that I was glad I didn't eat those chocolate bars like I had recently wanted to because it was such a tight squeeze that I got my knee caught or my hip. One time we went down a space so small that we had to be lowered down one by one rather than abseiling; Dan was the brave one to go down first and it was honestly freaky because you turned off your light and had no idea how far you were headed down, it's a very lucky thing none of us have claustrophobia cause I'm pretty sure this would be their worst nightmare. We all loved it!!!!
Random bit of information.... If you find yourself in N.Z. in November and all the men appear slightly creepy with mustaches, it is not usually that way. November is officially called "Movember" in N.Z. and all the men grow mustaches in attempt to raise awareness for men's health.. It's fantastic, there's a lot of mustache envy going around and good variety. My favorite so far has been an Irish bloke with a perfect handlebar mustache.
Thanks for following along we us in our adventures! Hopefully everything is well with everyone! We love y'all and miss home but luckily, we are finding out that N.Z is a pretty good place to be our home away from home...
Luv, V
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